Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.
QUESTION: What ever happened to the teenagers that shot and killed a homeless man under the freeway by Miller Park? I think it happened in 1986. Are they still locked away? It was said it happened on Christmas Eve.
Submitted by: Just Wondering, Sacramento
ANSWER: Two boys, ages 17 and 15, were arrested in the unprovoked killing of a transient on Dec. 24, 1984.
According to stories in The Bee, the body of Michael Edward Parks, 29, was found shortly after noon on Christmas Day on the Sacramento River levee under Pioneer Bridge. He had been shot twice in the head with a small caliber weapon.
During the next three weeks, detectives narrowed the list of possible suspects to the two youths. When it came time for arrests, the younger suspect was already in Juvenile Hall for an unrelated crime.
Authorities said the boys were hunting rabbits when they began talking about killing people. When they saw Parks, the younger boy mused about what it would feel like to kill someone. He shot Parks in the back of the head from about 30 feet, according to court documents, and his companion then fired a second shot.
The older teen, identified as Bill O. Khan, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and was sentenced in January 1987 to 17 years to life in prison. Khan, who was 19 when he was sentenced, was to be held by the California Youth Authority until he was 25, then transferred to state prison.
The younger boy, whose name was not disclosed because of his age, was found guilty of murder in Juvenile Court in 1985 and was committed to the California Youth Authority.
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